Billionaire Motsepe appears in court over $195 million lawsuit from Tanzania – BNN Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) — South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe and his associated companies are being sued for $195 million in Tanzania, with one of the largest cases to come before the country’s commercial court resuming on Monday.

Tanzanian mining company Pula Group is suing Motsepe and his associated companies, including African Rainbow Minerals, African Rainbow Capital and ARCH Emerging Markets, for allegedly breaching a non-compete agreement when they invested in Australia’s Evolution Energy Minerals, located near the graphite mine. Pula project. said company chairman Charles Stith.

“The amount was based on a third party’s assessment of what Pula stood to lose as a result of the competitive disadvantage resulting from Motsepe’s subsidiaries’ breach of confidentiality and non-compete agreements,” Stith said in an interview.

Motsepe and its associated companies deny any wrongdoing and say Pula’s allegations and claims are unfounded.

“ARM was considering investing in minerals it had not mined in the past when the Poole graphite project was brought to its attention,” an ARM spokesman said. “ARM entered into a confidentiality agreement with Pula and then decided not to invest in the project and communicated its decision to Pula.”

The company declined to comment further on the case, which is currently in court.

Pula said a two-year non-compete contract had been entered into and that Motsepe’s companies had negotiated and concluded a deal with the Australian company during that period.

Stith, a former US ambassador to Tanzania, said much of the exploration work in Tanzania is carried out by Australian and Canadian companies, and that unfair and predatory practices by companies like ARM perpetuate inequality in the mining sector to the detriment of Tanzanians.

“Similar dynamics have been observed across the African continent, and this case is expected to set a legal precedent to protect the rights of local mining and exploration companies competing with international counterparts in Tanzania,” he said.

Stith said Pula is trying to get the ball rolling by using feedback from the Motsepe group of companies who claim they were not served properly or that Tanzania lacks jurisdiction. In some cases, ARM’s legal team did not appear in court, he added.

©2024 Bloomberg LP